Farley Mowat’s love of nature celebrated at private funeral service

Family members and friends celebrated the life of Farley Mowat on Tuesday at a private funeral for the beloved author of classics including Owls in the Family and Never Cry Wolf.

Outside the church, Justin Mowat — the writer’s 18-year-old grandson — said the service was “very respectful, very peaceful, exactly how I’m sure grandpa Farley would have liked it.”

In addition to penning over 40 books, Mowat was a staunch defender of the environment, a quality that was top of mind for the mourners at St. Mark’s Anglican Church.

“There’s actually a tree right over there that he stopped us (at) one time when we were down here on a walk, and he stopped and he patted it and he told us that every time he walked by this tree with his dog he would pat the tree and he would hold onto it and the tree would talk to him,” recalled Justin Mowat, who spoke at the service.

“I knew — whether he was joking or not — that it was very evident that he had a very strong connection with nature, and that really brought that out.”

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was among those who attended the service, held under cloudy skies in this small community about 100 kilometres east of Toronto. For the past few decades, Mowat divided his time between Port Hope and Cape Breton, N.S.

Suzanne Camm, a neighbour of Mowat’s who stood outside the church, said the author was very low key and approachable.

“Every morning at about six, 6:15 a.m., he was walking down the street with his dog and everyone knew if you wanted to have a conversation with Farley, get up early and get out and he’d be out there strolling,” Camm said.

“He was always the life of the party. He was just a fun man. You didn’t bother him when he was at home, particularly in the morning, because you knew he was writing. But if he was out he was approachable, particularly if he had a dog. I mean, I think he loved dogs more than he loved people. He really, really loved animals.”

From the time he was 13, Mowat was fiercely dedicated to writing about the natural world and became an outspoken champion of various environmental and social issues.

He called Canada’s treatment of aboriginals “abominable,” said the seal hunt was “perhaps the most atrocious single trespass by human beings against the living world that’s taking place today,” and said hunts in general were “symbolic of the massive destruction that we’ve visited upon life.”

Mowat said he was lucky to be able to combine his two passions: writing and nature, calling it “the only subject I really want to write about.”

He received numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Award for his 1956 children’s story Lost in the Barrens, the Leacock Medal for Humour for The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float in 1970, the Order of Canada in 1981 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2003. He was also inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.

Justin Mowat said he spoke during the service about how his grandfather taught him “about passion and how to drive yourself and always ask questions and seek the answers.”

“I actually had a very nice conversation with him the last time I saw him about that, about passion, and he told me that he’d like to say that he tried his best in life,” he said.

“But then he stopped, he corrected himself and he said that he’d like to say that he succeeded in life — he did everything he wanted to do, he succeeded to himself and to others and that he can now die happy.”

Following the service, Mowat’s ashes were to be interred at a cemetery beside the church, which is also the resting place of former governor general Vincent Massey.

Mowat is survived by his wife Claire, sister Rosemary, brother John, and sons Sandy and David — as well as three grandchildren.